Even If I'm Reborn as a Cute Dragon Girl, I Will Still Make a Harem-Chapter 114Book 6: : Your Happiness

The girl waved her hand lightly and, just like that, stepped onto the river formed from countless records, walking steadily toward the opposite shore.

Lilith gazed at her retreating figure for a long time. Only when the girl finally set foot on the far bank did she let out a quiet, pitying sigh. “So much talk about happiness… yet you’ve already forgotten what they even looked like, haven’t you?”

Indeed, on the other side of the river, waving at the girl, were nothing more than a few hollow silhouettes. They had no concrete forms, no real faces, only vague outlines like hurried pencil sketches, stripped of any features they should have possessed.

Nine million years was far too long, long enough for someone to forget the appearance of the people most important to them over and over again. What the girl was walking toward was nothing more than a pile of things even she herself could no longer recognize.

And yet, with that, how could one possibly speak of happiness?

“Then let me tell you what happiness truly is, my friend.” Lilith stood up and reached her hand into the river before her.

Endless, monotonous records continued to flow past her eyes. Lilith followed them with her gaze, trying to seek out traces of beauty among them. But disappointment quickly followed.

There was beauty, yes, but there was far too little of it, and with the passage of time, most of it had become hazy and unreal.

Instead, a few scars carved deep into memory remained painfully clear, such as the moment Gerald betrayed her, a scene she still remembered with absolute clarity.

“If there is none, then we’ll just have to create it.” As if struck by a brilliant idea, a faint smile was forced onto Lilith’s tear-streaked face. “Even if it’s fake, you’re already dead anyway. True or false doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

Lilith raised her hand, and countless records surged upward with a soft rush, no longer forming a river but floating in the air like a flock of birds.

She continuously shifted those records around, piecing together the fragments that shimmered with faint light, cutting a little here, stitching a section there, and removing everything that should not have existed.

It was as though she were completing a grand work of art, meticulous and earnest in every motion. Thus, an exquisitely beautiful and irresistibly alluring picture scroll gradually took shape in Lilith’s hands.

“Go.” She released the completed picture, letting it drift with the wind as it slowly expanded, spreading outward until it enveloped the world.

***

The scent of flowers drifted in.

The girl awoke from her sleep and found herself lying amid a vast sea of blossoms.

Countless vibrant flowers clustered together into a splendid tapestry, spread beneath a flawless blue sky and filling her entire field of vision, as if determined to banish every unpleasant thought from her mind.

The girl seemed momentarily unaccustomed to such overwhelming beauty and gently shook her head.

“What’s wrong?” A gentle voice sounded.

She turned around to see a handsome young man with golden hair smiling as he brushed away the petals scattered across her head.

“Nothing.” The girl rubbed her face. “I just had a nightmare, that’s all.”

“I told you not to sleep in a place like this.” The young man affectionately pinched her nose. “Nightmares aside, what if you caught a cold?”

“Don’t jinx it. Do you really want me to catch a cold?” The girl, slightly annoyed, swatted his hand away. “And you didn’t even ask what the nightmare was about. That’s so disappointing. Could it be that you don’t like me anymore, Gerald?”

“How could that be.” The young man raised both hands helplessly in surrender. “Then tell me, what kind of nightmare troubled you so much?”

“I forgot,” the girl snorted, answering with complete confidence.

“Tch.”

“Hey, did you just click your tongue?!”

“I didn’t. You heard wrong.”

“You did!”

“I didn’t.”

“You did, you did!”

The girl bared her teeth at him, pretending to be fierce as she lunged forward. “Well then, Gerald, have you grown bolder lately? How dare you be dissatisfied with me and even deny it?”

The young man immediately put on a stern expression. “Insolence. A mere empress dares to harbor ill intentions toward me. Let’s see how I punish you.” With that, he reached out to tickle her mercilessly.

“That’s nonsense. I’m clearly the emperor. Come along, my beloved consort. Obey me, and I shall treat you well from now on.” The girl deftly dodged him, then let out a mischievous laugh and suddenly pounced, launching her counterattack.

The young man switched to a bashful expression at once, pinching his voice as he coquettishly exclaimed, “Oh my, Your Majesty, you’re far too strong. I can hardly take it anymore~”

“Haha, my beloved consort, the best is still yet to come.”

“No, Your Majesty~”

“My beloved consort, screaming your throat hoarse won’t help at all, heehee.”

The two of them tumbled together in playful chaos. Rolling about in the sea of flowers that surrounded them.

In the end, the girl grew tired and lay nestled in the young man’s arms, letting him pluck away the petals caught in her hair one by one before carefully redoing her hairstyle, arranging it neatly and beautifully.

It was obvious that this was not the first time he had done such a thing. His movements were smooth and practiced, as though second nature.

The girl quietly gazed at the clouds in the sky, fluffy like cotton candy, and softly sighed, “It’s so beautiful.”

The young man followed her gaze for a moment, but quickly lost interest. “What’s so interesting about clouds?”

“I think they’re beautiful.” The girl pouted.

“This is what’s really beautiful.” The young man placed the flower wreath he had woven onto the girl’s head. And so, the already lovely girl looked radiant, like a burst of spring sunlight.

“When did you learn all these flashy tricks?” The girl puffed out her cheeks and stared at him intently. Tell me, did you go and take a fancy to some other girl again?”

“The one I set my sights on is you, my girl.”

“Eww, how cheesy.” The girl turned her head away, refusing to let him see her already flushed cheeks, then stood up first. “It’s getting late. Let’s go, or Father and the others will be waiting anxiously.”

Hearing that, the young man instead became mischievous. “Th-this soon? I’m not ready yet.”

“Oh, come on.” The girl smiled as she hooked her arm around his. “Even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet the in-laws sooner or later, right?”

***

This was the first time the young man was meeting the girl’s family, and he was extremely nervous.

He put on his most handsome suit, wore his most mature wristwatch, polished his leather shoes until they gleamed, yet still felt as though he was not prepared at all. He hesitated at the doorway, no matter how much the girl tried to reassure him that her family were all wonderful people. He was so nervous his legs nearly gave out.

Just as he finally gathered his courage and raised his hand to knock, the door suddenly opened on its own, and a lively little head poked out from inside.

The snot-nosed little brat eyed the young man warily, then glanced at the girl behind him. His eyes lit up as if he had discovered something, and he suddenly darted back inside, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Big sister brought a man home! Big sister brought a man home!”

“What? Ceci is back?”

“And she even brought a boyfriend? Why didn’t you say so earlier, I didn’t prepare anything!”

“I don’t agree! I don’t agree! Ceci is my daughter. Without my permission, no one is taking her away!”

The house instantly descended into utter chaos. The girl smiled apologetically at the young man. But before she could say anything, the front door was flung open once more.

A stern old man stood before the young man like a solid wall, sizing him up from head to toe. “So you’re the one who wants to steal my Ceci away.”

“Hello, Uncle. My name is Gerald.” The young man bowed repeatedly and offered the gifts in his hands. “This is just a small token of my sincerity. Please accept it.”

“These things aren’t important.” The old man casually tossed the exquisite gifts aside. His eyes, sharp enough to pierce through a person’s soul, locked onto the young man as if he intended to see through him completely.

“Kid, I’ll only ask you one thing. Do you truly love Ceci? Are you willing to give everything for her and protect her forever? Are you willing to ensure that she never suffers even the slightest harm?”

“Oh come on, Father, how many questions is that already? You’re just making things difficult for him.” The girl stepped forward, acting coquettishly as she tugged at the old man’s hand. “It’s his first time here. Can’t you be a little gentler?”

“No.” The old man replied sternly. “This is the one matter that cannot be handled carelessly.”

“So, what’s your answer, young man?” The old man continued to stare at him, waiting for his response.

The young man took a deep breath, loosened his tie slightly, and then, before the man who would become his future father-in-law, as well as the many curious heads peeking out behind him, spoke with utter seriousness.

“My answer is… of course. I love Ceci. Truly. I am willing to give everything for her and protect her forever, and I will never let her come to any harm! If you still don’t believe me, I can even swear that if I fail to fulfill any of those promises…”

The young man raised his fingers and swore solemnly, “Then may my soul be scattered, never to be reborn for all eternity!”

When he finished speaking, his face was already burning red. He forced himself not to look at the equally flushed girl, nor at the future family members who were teasing him with raised brows and knowing looks, and instead straightened his chest as much as he could.

“Is… is that answer satisfactory to you?”

“I’m not talking to you anymore!” Before the old man could respond, the girl, embarrassed and annoyed, ran straight into the house, deciding that she would ignore those two infuriating people for the rest of the day.

‘Well, maybe one whole day is too much, one hour sounds about right. And if that b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ Gerald didn’t come coax me, then I’ll ignore him for two hours!’

“Pheewit~” someone whistled cheerfully.

The young man felt his face was about to give in from sheer embarrassment.

Then, amid the increasingly awkward atmosphere, the old man’s stern, upright brows suddenly relaxed. He burst into hearty laughter and slapped the young man firmly on the shoulder, the sound ringing out as he spoke.

“Not bad, kid. You’ve got some backbone. I suppose I’ll grudgingly acknowledge you.”

“I… is that so?” The young man finally let out a long breath of relief. “Being able to earn your approval is truly wonderful.”

“Well then, since that’s settled, don’t be so stiff.” The old man became warm and enthusiastic as if he were a completely different person, ushering the young man into the house.

“Belle, is the food ready?”

“It’s been ready for ages.” The mature woman in an apron stood with her hands on her hips and scolded him with a frown. “It’s just that you’re always dragging things out, Father. The dishes are about to go cold.”

“Haha, this concerns Ceci’s lifelong happiness. Of course I have to be careful.”

“Hmph, you weren’t this attentive back when it came to me.” As she spoke, the woman lightly kicked the man beside her who was helping bring the dishes to the table. “That’s why I ended up marrying such a useless man like you. You didn’t even know to give me a gift on our anniversary.”

The man scratched his head and laughed honestly. “Didn’t I make it up later?”

“What’s the point of making it up after missing the actual day?” The woman shot him another look, though there was hardly any real anger in her eyes.

“Haha, why bring all that up now. Come on, everyone, sit down and eat.” The old man called everyone over, then took out a bottle of his treasured wine from the cabinet. “Heh, kid, tonight we drink until we’re drunk!”

So when the girl finally came out of her room, she saw that the old man and the young man were already flushed red, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, calling each other brothers as they drank.

The girl let out a helpless sigh, but as she watched this warm scene, endless sweetness welled up in her heart.

In a daze, she looked out the window. At the far end of the sea of flowers, there seemed to be a golden-haired girl gazing this way, smiling gently. Who was she, she wondered.

***

Time was like a calm, steady river. When you stared at the leaves drifting upon it, it felt as though it flowed slowly, yet when your attention was captured by beautiful things, in the blink of an eye, time had already passed far, far away.

The relationship between the girl and the young man grew ever more stable.

In the end, after a proposal filled with romance where the young man put everything on the line, the two of them walked into the hall of marriage together.

When the girl, dressed in a pure white wedding gown, gently looped her arm through the old man’s, he was already choking back sobs. Yet he still held his chest high, fulfilling his duty as a father, placing the girl’s hand into that of the young man who had now grown into a man.

**Ding dong, ding dong!**

The church bells rang out, and everything was beautiful and romantic.

Amid the priest’s solemn words, the two were joined as a sacred couple.

At one point, when she turned her head, she once again saw the golden-haired girl seated among the guests, smiling at her.

***

The girl became a woman, gave birth to a child, and became the great being known as a mother.

From then on, her life gained a little sprite who shared in every joy and sorrow of her heart.

In the blink of an eye, that little sprite grew up, blossoming into a graceful young girl. And she herself grew old.

One day, upon hearing that her daughter was going to bring her boyfriend home, the old man beside her angrily shouted, “I don’t agree! I don’t agree! Without my permission, no one is taking my daughter away!”

As if recalling something, she smiled softly. It seemed that not only were mothers remarkably alike, but fathers the world over were much the same as well.

***

Her daughter married and had children. Then those children grew up as well. Her grandson inherited the genes of her already deceased husband and grew into a remarkably handsome young man.

She was very satisfied.

But before long, she grew so old that she could no longer see clearly. Each day, she could only lie in bed, staring at the white walls. Yet she did not feel afraid, because compared to black, white was beautiful, wasn’t it?

She liked white.

Then one day, her entire world became white.

Her children, dressed in white clothes, stood by her bedside window, weeping. She saw many, many familiar people whose faces she could no longer make out, gathered around her bed, offering her bouquets of flowers.

“Her life was happy and fulfilled,” a priest solemnly intoned, bestowing those words upon her as an epitaph.

After that, all sounds gradually drifted farther and farther away, until at last, there was only silence.

Only the golden-haired girl remained, sitting by her bedside.

“It’s over,” she murmured softly.

“Yes, it’s over.”

“What a happy life this was.”

“Perhaps. I only did what I could.”

“Thank you, Lilith.”

“I didn’t do anything worthy of thanks.”

“Being able to meet you was wonderful.”

Lilith looked at the girl lying on the hospital bed, who looked exactly the same as herself. Her body had already begun to slowly turn transparent.

“Me too. Being able to meet you was wonderful.”

The girl smiled. “Then goodbye, Lilith.”

“Yes. Goodbye, my friend.”

Lilith smiled and placed the final bouquet of flowers upon the girl’s chest.

***

#Author’s Note:#

This segment was not part of my original plan, but as I kept writing, I couldn’t quite bring myself to leave it out. Even if it was false, let her have a beautiful ending nonetheless.